When you’re building a small business, there are so many competing priorities, it can sometimes be hard to know where to start. One area in which small business owners are tempted to skimp is marketing. After all, it’s hard to think about the long-term future of the business when you’re simply trying to get product out the door, right?
Small business marketing strategy: start with the basics
Small business marketing is critical to the long-term success of any business. Building a brand, recruiting and retaining customers, delivering value and establishing the business among its competitors are all important short-term and long term goals, and all rely on a solid marketing strategy.
So how do you build a solid small business marketing strategy, and what has to go into building its foundation? From a small business marketing perspective, some critical “must-haves” include identity items like:
- A unique name and logo design
- A highly functional, attractive website design
- Customer-oriented marketing materials that suit the needs of your business
- A customer outreach strategy and tools that incorporate email and social media
- Advertising and promotional products
Do all of the pieces need to be in place at the same time? Not always, but that depends upon the nature of your business. In some cases, having a unique logo design and a simple, informational website will put you well ahead of your competition. (Surprisingly, most small businesses don’t have websites, even though most consumers use the Internet as a primary source of business information.)
If your business is heavily sales-oriented, or relies on a steady stream of new sales, you may want to focus your small business marketing strategy more closely on printed materials that your sales team puts into your customers’ hands. Customer contact may also be an important element in this case, so you may also want to concentrate your small business marketing efforts on regular email contact, electronic newsletters and other forms of outreach.
If your business can’t support traditional advertising, or it doesn’t produce effective results, promotional products may be a better strategy for your business. Promotional products can be very successful at reaching decision-makers, creating a positive impression of your business, and making lasting impressions upon the people most likely to use your services.
If you would like more information about creating an effective small business marketing strategy for your business, or developing the fundamental pieces of your marketing strategy, please contact our Creative Director, Dave Ramsell or give Dave a call at (330) 243-0651 to set up a consultation.
Photo Credit: sachyn, via StockXchng
